Four San Diego Networks or Groups Planning Protests

By Frank Gormlie

San Diego is mobilizing against Donald Trump’s appearance later this week when he stages a rally on Friday at the Convention Center.

At least four networks or groups are organizing protests outside the Trump rally. One of them has stated its intention of organizing something inside his event. One of the groups is mobilizing protesters from the LA area as well. And, of course, each network has their own facebook page.

The Love Trumps Hate Solidarity Network

Days before Trump announced his speech in San Diego, the group Activist San Diego, organized a planning meeting at the Joyce Beers Community Center in Hillcrest with a call that went out to San Diego’s social justice community. About two dozen people showed up – including yours truly as a rep of the OB Rag / SD Free Press – and laid the ground work and some basic plans for an expected visit by Donald Trump.

The consensus was that Donald Trump remains one of the most dangerous and unpredictable candidates ever to potentially reach the White House. His racially charged politics, his anti-immigrant rhetoric, his Muslim bashing, and his pandering to billionaire 1%ers, makes him a threat that is worthy of major public mobilization. It is especially important that San Diego with the largest border entry point between the US/Mexico be ready to expose the very real consequences of hate.

The Networks calls for a rally outside the Convention Center starting at noon on Friday, May 27th.

The network adopted a slogan often heard recently and which was thought to represent the loose coalition’s positive approach to combating hate speech, calling itself the Love trumps Hate Solidarity Network. The hope is to mobilize a massive response emphasizing a positive message of grassroots democratic, non-violent opposition.

It has its facebook page up – and at last look, it had more than 50 members, many of them movers and shakers within San Diego’s progressive movement. They include Martha Sullivan of Grassroots Oasis, mayoral candidate Lori Saldana, Mariah Gaylor of the Peace Resource Center and a whole host of other known activists.

The network is holding a meeting to finalize plans – which anyone opposed to Trump is invited to attend :

Meet Mon. May 23rd at the Grassroots Oasis near Old Town ~3130 Moore St. San Diego.

Unión del Barrio Rally

Another organization that is mobilizing for Friday is the Unión del Barrio – which is holding a rally at Chicano Park at 1pm on Friday, May 27th. Unión del Barrio is a long-time militant San Diego Chicano and Mexican-American group that has a base in Barrio Logan. Here is what they state on their facebook page:

¡Alerta! There is an enemy at our doorstep. Donald Trump is planning to hold a rally at the San Diego Convention Center on Friday afternoon, May 27, 2016. Unión del Barrio San Diego issues this call to all anti-racists in San Diego and progressives in general, and to the Mexican community in particular, to stand united and oppose this anti-Arab, anti-Black, anti-Mexican, anti-Woman, power-hungry, neo-fascist oligarch who has every intention of taking for himself the highest political office within the current borders of the United States.

Trump and his trumpista followers are anti-Mexican to their core. This man started his presidential campaign attacking our community, and at every one of his rallies he escalates and expands his message of racist and misogynistic aggression. He has created a political climate in this country that threatens the safety of our communities, and we have no other choice other than to push back against trumpismo! We are planning an organized action in defense of our communities beginning at 1:00 pm at Chicano Park! All of us 100% united against Trump! On May 27th we look forward to struggle alongside compas and allies to defend our communities…

Dump Trump San Diego

Another group that is planning protests on Friday is Dump Trump San Diego. They have a facebook organization page that appears to have been up at least since April, and the group itself is part of a larger network that is organizing protesters to the Convention Center from Los Angeles. Dump Trump SD has organized a couple other events against Trump since early April. Their slogan is “Enough is enough! Time to dump Trump!”

Nearly 500 people “like” the page, but only 42 have signed up for Friday’s protest, and another 56 have stated they’re coming down from LA.

One of this network’s organizing projects is to have folks contact and pressure 15 California Republicans to denounce Trump, with calls and emails – telling tell them they will lose votes unless they do, as all the ones they are targeting are incumbent and up for re-election.

The facebook page’s “About” section has no information about either the San Diego Dump Trump group or the LA one.

Smash Trump San Diego

The third network that is organizing protests at the Trump event on Friday is the Smash Trump San Diego – and they are mobilizing their supporters at 1:30pm in front of the Convention Center. They appear to be the most “militant” in their imagery, rhetoric, and photos displayed on their event facebook page – yet 500 have indicated they are going on the page. The page also states that it is hosted by something called San Diego Antifa Action.

That group’s facebook page states:

This page is for Anti-Fascist / Anti-Racist Activists in San Diego to Unite and Spring into Action Against any Fascism and/or Racism in our Community.

With the recent openness of racism after the Mike Brown killing, and the kkk’s push to recruit in our communities, We need to be ready to Act and Smash their Racist System.

WE EXPOSE active racist, fascist, anti-gay, and anti-woman individuals and groups in San Diego. We won’t allow our enemies to plan their war on us in secret.

WE OPPOSE their events, meetings, fundraising measures, and media outlets. Fascism must be smashed every time it rears its head.

WE CONFRONT nazis, fundamentalist reactionaries, sexists, and all manner of fascists. This is our community and we will defend it from incursion by divisive, violent bigots.

The San Diego Police Department and the County Sheriff conducted training exercises in preparation for Trump’s appearance outside Qualcomm stadium on Thursday.

Recent events featuring the presumptive GOP nominee in California have led to raucous protests in nearby areas. In recent weeks, Trump’s security team has seen some success in deterring disruptions inside venues where he is speaking, working closely with local law enforcement agencies to identify and turn away people at the points of entry.

A lawyer and grassroots activist, I was finally convinced by Patty Jones to start the OB Rag, a blog of citizen journalists, after she got tired of listening to my rants about the news. Way back during the Dinosaurs in 1970, I founded the original Ocean Beach People’s Rag - OB’s famous underground newspaper -, and then later during the early Eighties, published The Whole Damn Pie Shop, a progressive alternative to the Reader.

WHERE: Gather at the plaza at the southeast corner of the Convention Center, across from the Bayfront Hilton (map). You’re encouraged to take the trolley to the Gaslamp Quarter station. Alternatively, there are several paid parking facilities near the site.